Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason is one of the NBA's best wing defenders, a long-armed menace who racks up steals and blocks with regularity. Eason employed a dose of free-throw defense with his trash talk in Wednesday's 109-108 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

As of Sunday night, the Rockets are sixth in the league in net rating at +6.1. Their defense is third in the league with a defensive rating of 107.3. But the offense has now crept all the way up to eleventh league-wide with an offensive rating of 113.4. Houston is inching closer to having both a top 10 defense and offense.

Alperen Sengun made two free throws with 4.5 seconds left and Darius Garland missed two of three free throws after that to allow the Houston Rockets to hold on for a 109-108 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

This affiliate content is not influenced by our advertising relationships, but AP and Data Skrive might earn commissions from our partners’ links in this content.

Houston has had two full days off since beating the NBA-best Cavaliers Wednesday, and the two teams will again face off tonight at 6:30 p.m. CT. The Rockets nar

Amen Thompson had his second career triple-double, Alperin Sengun and Jalen Green scored 26 points apiece and the Houston Rockets beat the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers 135-131 on Saturday night.

The Cavaliers appeared to secure the upper hand when Darius Garland was fouled on a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left, with Tari Eason charged ... again at the buzzer. Cleveland dropped to 3-3 ...

The Cavaliers appeared to secure the upper hand when Darius Garland was fouled on a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left, with Tari Eason charged ... again at the buzzer. Cleveland dropped to 3-3 ...

Tari Eason was charged with a flagrant ... that included a Garland layup resulting in a 99-98 Cleveland lead. Fred VanVleet stalled the Cavaliers' rally with consecutive 3-pointers to knot the ...

Jabari Smith Jr. #10 of the Houston Rockets and Kris Dunn #11 of the Utah ... [+] Jazz are separated on the court in the first half at Toyota Center on

Houston plans on sticking with their current crop of homegrown talent and impactful veterans to make a push in the postseason this year. The team can see which of its young players shines brightest in meaningful moments.

The clock is ticking on Sacramento. Would Houston or Orlando make a play for the point guard? Or will the Spurs form a dynamic duo?